My old pit bull has tumors. Vet suspects cancer. What should I do?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It is difficult to say for sure what these tumors are just by looking at photos. However, that being said, the light pink mass I would suspect to be benign / non-cancerous and it looks like what we call a sebaceous adenoma. The dark purple mass looks a little more suspicious for a malignant / cancerous mass. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine both to be on the safe side. The vet can insert a small needle into both masses and look at their cells under the microscope, a test called a Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA). I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please remember to rate this answer as helpful or not. Thank you!

Anytime a new mass is noticed, I always recommend having it evaluated to see what it is and if anything needs to be done about it. Unfortunately, we can't tell anything about a mass by just looking at it. Your vet can perform a simple test called a fine needle aspirate where they use a small needle to collect some cells from the mass, then look at them under the microscope. They may even need to send the cells to the lab for a pathologist to examine them, so we know what the mass is. If it is benign, you might not need to do anything about the mass at all, but if they see cells that worry them, they might recommend removing the mass. Since Asia's mass may be along her mammary glands, they may also recommend spaying her if her mass is affected by hormones. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and that Asia is fine. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Being benign vs. malignant is more based on how it looks under the microscope. It can still be benign even if it is not very movable. This could be a benign or malignant growth. This is often differentiated by a test called a fine needle aspirate (FNA) which is a pain free, inexpensive and easy procedure which in most cases will help reach a diagnosis. Sometimes a biopsy is needed for a definitive diagnosis. I recommend that you have him evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. I am really hoping for something benign. Good luck and have a good night!

Hi Holly! Unfortunately yes, there is always a possibility this could be a testicular tumor, but it could either be a benign or a malignant tumor. The best thing to do is consult with your vet so that these lumps can be examined in person and diagnosed. Treatment for testicular tumors does involving neutering the dog, and that can be curative and often the only treatment needed. Make an appointment for Romo with the vet in the next day or two. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Unfortunately any skin mass can be cancerous but the good news is that most are benign. The only way to know for sure is the have a small sample of the mass collected and examined under the microscope. I recommend for Pepper to see his veterinarian. Sometimes the doctor can tell by palpation but other times they need to see the cells. Anytime you have a dark colored mass, melanoma is on the concern list. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Awww, he's a handsome guy! Tumors which appear as lumps and bumps on the skin or can be felt or seen but are just under the skin are common with age; some are benign and not problematic, while some can be life threatening. Lipomas are common, which are usually relatively soft, freely movable under the skin (you can push it around) and are non painful. Generally these are slow growing, they do not cause cancer elsewhere in the body (though its very common for a dog to have multiple lipoma tumors) and rarely cause a problem. Mast cell tumors, on the other hand, can be aggressive and can cause systemic illness. They can look like lipomas; the only way to know the difference is for your vet to perform a fine needle aspirate (where they will poke the bumps with a needle to get a sample of the cells and then look at them under a microscope. Other skin tumors can include squamous cell carcinomas which can be very locally invasive and aggressive, and grow quickly. Keep an eye on the lumps and bumps. If any of them are quickly growing, start to break open or bleed, or any of them are painful when touched, he should be seen by a vet. A golfball sized tumor is immensely easier to remove than a football sized one--so addressing a lump when its small is much better Grady and also will cost less than waiting until its very large. I hope that helps you, thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I am so sorry, but there is nothing you can do at home for this, other than try to keep it clean if it breaks open and bleeds (which it looks like it could do at any time). Short of taking her in, there really just aren’t any options... this would require surgical removal. If she’s comfortable, eating, and happy, it’s not wrong to just love on her for the time she has left and not pursue treating the tumor. Again, I’m sorry I don’t have more options to offer you. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.